Member of Parliament’s Defence and Interior Committee, Peter Lanchene Toobu, has called on the media to exercise restraint and avoid sensationalizing the competition for the position of Chief of Defence Staff in the Ghana Armed Forces. Toobu stressed that giving undue attention to this matter could risk politicizing it, thereby compromising the military’s vital non-partisan role in the country.
Addressing the issue during an interview on JoyFM’s Midday News, Toobu expressed his concerns about the potential implications of media coverage on the ongoing jostle for the Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) appointment. He emphasised that the Ghana Armed Forces is a crucial state institution that should remain impartial in its approach to national affairs.
“The Ghana Armed Forces is a serious state institution that should never ever be partisan in its approach. And that is how the appointment of the CDS even though it is political, after your appointment you work for the state and not the party in government,” Toobu remarked.
He went on to caution against elevating the issue in the media, saying, “So what is happening in the Ghana Armed Forces now as Prof said, we don’t need to give it currency.”
Toobu’s comments come in the wake of Chief of Army Staff, Major General Thomas Oppong-Peprah, addressing rumours that he had declined an appointment as the Chief of Defence Staff (CDS). While dismissing these rumours as false, Major General Oppong-Peprah voiced his concerns about being subjected to unwarranted attacks.
He revealed, “The name Oppong-Preprah is stirring stomachs and heads and creating fear in people. I don’t understand why and so I have been attacked and they keep attacking me.”
These developments occurred just weeks after the presidency had issued a statement debunking rumours suggesting a politically-motivated shake-up within the country’s military hierarchy, purportedly aimed at benefiting the ruling party in the upcoming 2024 general elections.
Responding to Major General Oppong-Peprah’s statement, Peter Toobu advised him to disregard the circulating rumours. He encouraged the Chief of Army Staff to remain focused on his duties, highlighting his progression from the Armour Regiment in Southern Command to his current role.
Toobu reminded him, “Whether it’ll come, it will come. But the truth of the matter is that soldiers talk less and soldiers don’t respond to speculation. Whatever it is, just be the soldier that you are and defend Ghana even at the peril of your life; that is a soldier.”
In a time of heightened political sensitivity, the call for media restraint in military leadership matters underscores the need to maintain the Ghana Armed Forces’ neutrality and professionalism.
